Area n wave watchers have a field day

Tuesday

Oct 30, 2012 at 3:15 AMOct 30, 2012 at 5:52 AM

By Andrea Bulfinchabulfinch@fosters.com

HAMPTON — As waves and wind gusts picked up momentum on the Seacoast as the effects of Hurricane Sandy began to creep up the Eastern Seaboard, so, too, did the excitement over the awe of Mother Nature and her stormy wrath. Standing at the sandy end of Cable Road in Rye, “Hurricane Sandy” herself was taking in the giant waves her namesake storm was bringing to the New Hampshire coast around noon on Monday.

“You're talking to the right person,” said Sandy Pinkham, of Norwood, Mass. She was in the Granite State visiting Jack Ives, who said he lived just up the street from the small beach where they were taking pictures.

“I've never been here before. I came to see the giant waves. It's a beautiful beach,” Pinkham said.

They came out to the beach at high tide late Sunday night to get the earliest glimpse of the storm rolling in.

She had originally planned on taking the Amtrak Downeaster back to Boston to get home, but since the MBTA was already shut down due to the storm, Ives was giving her a lift back to Norwood before the bulk of the storm was scheduled to hit the region.

A little farther down the Rye coast, Amy O'Neill was gripping a hot cup of coffee and, with her husband, Scott, son Frankie, 8, and 9-year-old neighbor Donovan was attempting to snap photos of the storm while misty rain pelted onlookers.

“We're here for the waves and the ice cream,” she said, explaining the young boys had each gotten a scoop at the Beach Plum before the family parked near the seawall to observe the start of the storm.

“I haven't been out here before,” Donovan said.

O'Neill said she and her husband ventured to the coast to watch Hurricane Irene arrive in August 2011.

Scott said coming out to the beach to watch a storm was nothing new to him and something he really enjoyed.

“It's a family tradition,” he said. “My mother used to bring us down here.”

The seawall at Hampton Beach State Park was lined with Sandy spectators as well. Some brave souls were jumping on top of the seawall to get the full effect of the ocean swells and waves as they crashed against the cement.

“That was awesome! I want to do it again!” Gavin Walsh, 4, said as he stood dressed in a rain jacket and Spiderman hat as the waves crashed over him and his family. He was accompanied by his mother, Deanna, of Dover, and sisters Emily, 6, and Hanaa, 8. The youngsters were waiting for “the big splash” and shrieking with excitement each time it crested the seawall.

“We spend a lot of time at Hampton Beach so for them to see the difference with the storm is really neat,” Walsh said.

She said they trekked onto the beach itself initially, but the flying sand proved too much to handle for the youths

With each gush of water toward the seawall, the crowd of onlookers took a giant step back, unsuccessful in their attempt to avoid getting soaked by the ocean.

Marybeth Mulone, of Derry, was braving the elements without so much as a jacket, but taking photographs and enjoying every chilly splash.

“It's Mother Nature at it's finest,” she said.

“Every time they have a storm with the big waves, we come and see,” she said.

Standing nearby, her friend Dan Watt, of Raymond, was amazed at the sight of the waves.

“I grew up around here. This is the worst I've seen it,” he said.

Watt and Mulone said they had been watching a surfer take advantage of the huge waves.

By 3 p.m., the time at which motorists were cautioned by state officials to be off the road and at a safe location, Hampton Beach was still buzzing with anticipation over the storm as the wind became stronger and more sustained and the tide began to recede until just after midnight Tuesday.

“It's a moment in history. We haven't seen a storm this big touch the region for a while. Irene brought a lot of rain, but with the wind predicted from this storm I think it's going to be a lot worse,” Margaret Harthlow said as winds gained strength and howled through the harbor. Visiting from Weymouth, Mass., she was glad to be able to see what the beaches were encountering a little farther north.

“I'm ready for anything. Power outage, heavy wind, erosion, I say, 'Bring it,'” Hampton native, Harry Bartlett, said. He'd been out to the grocery store to stock up on essentials and prepare for the storm.

“I've watched a number of storms come into the beach over the years. Anyone from around here knows this is what we get a thrill from, riding out the storms,” he said.